Trajectories of internalizing problems across childhood: heterogeneity, external validity, and gender differences

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychopathology
• Longitudinal Studies

Background:

• Developmental psychopathology theory posits early-onset internalizing problems with varied longitudinal courses.
• Previous research often overlooks early childhood and assumes trajectory variations primarily in rate, not form.
• This approach can obscure symptom heterogeneity, early gender differences, and the impact of early risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model heterogeneity in maternal-reported internalizing symptoms from ages 2 to 11 using person-oriented methods.
• To investigate early gender differences in internalizing problem trajectories.
• To examine the influence of early sociocontextual risks on long-term internalizing outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized latent growth mixture modeling (a person-oriented approach) to analyze maternal-reported internalizing symptoms.
• Sample included 1,364 children, with data collected from ages 2 to 11 years.
• Examined gender similarities and differences in trajectory classes and their predictors.

Main Results:

• Identified three distinct latent trajectory classes for internalizing symptoms in both genders: low-stable, decreasing/increasing, and elevated-stable.
• While trajectory structure was similar across genders, initial values and rates of change differed.
• Maternal postpartum depression and anxiety significantly impacted latent growth factors and predicted trajectories.

Conclusions:

• Internalizing symptom trajectories show significant heterogeneity from early childhood, with distinct patterns observed for boys and girls.
• Early maternal psychopathology is a key predictor of these childhood internalizing trajectories.
• Further external validation of identified latent classes is recommended for robust understanding.